The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey – Penalties in Hockey (PART II)

Penalties in hockey

• Minor penalty – 2 min
• Major penalty – 5 min
• Misconduct – 10 min
• Game misconduct – 10 min
• Match – 10 min

Penalties in hockey are an important part of the sport, so it is vital to find out what penalties in hockey are in order to understand the sport better.

After you have learned how penalties in hockey work, to further improve your hockey betting skills, you have to find out what kind of penalties are in hockey. This knowledge is extremely useful for anyone who is involved with ice hockey internet betting as Penalties in Minutes (PIM) can be a decisive factor in a hockey game. This ice hockey rules guide not only gives you a better understanding of the game, but can be helpful for pre-game betting and in-game betting as well. You will also learn what is the record for the most penalty minutes in an NHL game.

Types of penalties in hockey

The most common penalties in hockey are minor and major penalties – in the NHL and according to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) too. For more serious offences, there are other penalty types like misconduct, game misconduct and match penalties. Each penalty type has a statistical penalty minute attached to it. The offending player has to sit out this time and this number will be added to his and his team’s penalty statistics.

Minor penalties in hockey

Minor penalties in hockey are 2-minute punishments. This is the least strict penalty in NHL and IIHF hockey. The penalty ends with a goal being scored by the team in power play or if the two minute expired. If the latter happens, the penalized player can return to the ice automatically from the penalty box and if he is lucky and vigilant, he can make an impact on the game with an interception or by scoring a goal immediately. Therefore the team in power play has to be cautious towards the end of power play.

Players from both teams can be penalized at the same time and this means in the NHL that teams will play 4-on-4 if the penalties occurred while at full strength. According to IIHF regulations however, the sides remain in full strength when simultaneous penalties in hockey are imposed by the referees.

Several players can get penalties that put them in the penalty box and those who bet on sports in the EU and worldwide can witness that sometimes those boxes aren’t big enough.

Major penalties in hockey

The other most common type of penalties in hockey is the major penalty. That is a 5-minute sentence and is imposed for more severe forms of fouls. The major penalty doesn’t end with a goal being conceded by the short handed teams therefore it means five minutes of power play for the favored team unless another penalty is being imposed during the time.

The major penalty is the typical punishment for fighting. In this case there is usually a player on each team penalized, and in this case the teams continue on ice in full strength. The players with major penalties can leave the penalty box at the first stoppage of play after the five minutes have expired.

Other penalties in hockey

There are also other types of penalties in hockey, the misconduct, game misconduct, match penalty and the penalty shot. Misconduct is a 10-minute penalty, but the punished player can be substituted, so it doesn’t affect manpower in itself. However, it usually goes along with another penalty (it is a two and ten in most cases) and it gives time for the penalized player to calm down. So, it is usually imposed after fights or for dangerous play.

The game misconduct penalty means ejection from the game. It usually goes along with a major penalty, so it means five minute plus an ejection for the offending player. In the NHL, a player collecting three major penalties in a game automatically gets a game misconduct penalty.

Match penalty is imposed for injuring the opponent deliberately and it means ejection from the game plus a five-minute penalty for the team. Match penalty also means an automatic suspension until the case is assessed by the NHL Comissioner and a large fine. Match penalty is a ten-minute penalty in the NHL statistics.

When a defender denies an opponent from a goal scoring opportunity through a foul, a penalty shot is being imposed by the referee. When this offense happens while the offending team’s net is empty (as the goaltender was withdrawn), a goal is awarded to the other team instead of a penalty shot. In the form of a shootout, penalty shots are also used for tie-breaking in NHL regular season games and in other competitions.

What is the record for the most penalty minutes in an NHL game?

The record for the most penalty minutes in an NHL game is 419. That many penalty minutes were assessed in a 2004 regular season game when the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators kept on fighting and fighting in the last minutes.

This game is known as the “Brawl” by those who bet on sports in Canada and it caused a rule change. Since then an automatic one match suspension is handed to a player who instigates a fight in the last five minutes of a game to avert such embarrassing situations.

The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey
The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey – Ofside and Icing
The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey – Checking in Ice Hockey
The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey – Officials in Hockey
The Basic Rules of Ice Hockey – Penalties in Hockey (PART I)